Izayoi and his group had originally thought that they had both strength and a just cause on their side. Even if they couldn't defeat their enemy, they believed they could persuade them.
But the reality was that not only could they not defeat their enemy, but they had also been backed into a moral corner by the verbal debate.
Previously, they had thought the other party's revenge was based entirely on a misunderstanding. And while there was indeed an element of misunderstanding when it came to the Holy Cross Group, looking at the outcome, their enemy hadn't wrongly accused them of anything.
After all, the greatest deception they had suffered wasn't from the North America Group, the highest authority, but from Saigō Tōya of the original Third Stellar Particle Research Institute.
Sins of the father are visited upon the son. Although modern society doesn't recognize this kind of ethical binding, in the eyes of ancient people or gods, placing the blame for Saigō Tōya's transgressions on Sakamaki Izayoi was clearly not an issue.
"Calm down for a second..."
Izayoi spoke, trying to placate him.
He noticed the tone of the Typhon Avatar. He wasn't just speaking from the position of the Last Son of Gaea, a Two-Digit God, but also from the perspective of a victim across multiple pasts and futures.
The unique mechanism of a god's avatar gave him multiple perspectives. As a victim of the Third Stellar Particle's human experiments, he had likely experienced all of human history, from ancient to modern times, and endured every betrayal.
In this state, persuading him would be incredibly difficult. While there were other methods, Izayoi didn't want to show any weakness.
Perhaps there's another way to calm him down...
As Izayoi thought this, he overlooked one thing: his opponent was not only emotional but also inexplicably agitated, leaving no room to calm down and talk things over.
So—
"Calm down? How the hell am I supposed to calm down?!"
Taking the words as a flippant remark, the deeply provoked Typhon Avatar went berserk and charged at Izayoi.
BOOM!
Moving at a speed exceeding the third cosmic velocity, he arrived in the blink of an eye. His slender body possessed an oppressive aura that surpassed mountains. Typhon clenched his fist and slammed it toward Izayoi's chest.
"Watch out!"
Kudou Ayato, wielding her chain-sword, aimed the tip at the Typhon Avatar's eyes with Divine Realm-level martial arts.
However—
CLANG!
The sword, capable of easily cleaving through refined steel, couldn't even leave a white scratch on Typhon's body.
Kasukabe Yō tried to transform into a Golden-Winged Roc to carry Izayoi away at top speed, but the shockwave from Typhon's roar threw the entire atmosphere into chaos.
Facing such an opponent, Izayoi, unable to dodge in time, had no choice but to meet the attack with one of his own.
Even though his current strength couldn't even harm his opponent, it would be too lame not to throw a punch now that a fight had started.
Just as Izayoi prepared to take a slap at his foe, fully expecting to be disemboweled in return...
"Get back!"
Kudou Asuka's voice suddenly rang out.
Immediately after, the sound of cracking thunder echoed.
Izayoi instantly abandoned his counterattack and took a step back.
The next moment, roaring heavenly lightning struck the spot where he had been, crashing directly onto the Typhon Avatar.
It was the same type of lightning released by the Bull of Heaven. Empowered by Deva's Aura to reach Divinity-level power, more than a dozen of these bolts slammed into the Typhon Avatar.
Even an ordinary Four-Digit being would have to retreat temporarily to avoid injury when faced with lightning of this scale and quantity.
However, the Typhon Avatar before them didn't retreat a single step.
The sky-rending lightning caused not a single ripple on his body, unable to harm him, just like Izayoi's earlier punch.
The Typhon Avatar burst straight through the sea of lightning, his earth-shattering fist continuing toward Izayoi with undiminished force.
And just then—
"MOUUU!!!"
More than a dozen bull-headed monsters wielding giant lightning axes appeared, blocking the way in front of Izayoi.
The defense Kudou Asuka had specially prepared was now taking effect. The bull-headed monsters were originally only Seven-Digit in power, but empowered by Deva's Aura, each now possessed a body of Divinity-level strength, only slightly inferior to Izayoi's.
These bull-headed monsters used their flesh-and-blood bodies to try and block the enemy's attack. Asuka's strategy was simple: no matter how strong the enemy was, surely he couldn't obliterate more than a dozen Divinity-holders with a single punch, right?
However, reality is often unpredictable.
"Minotaurs?"
Seeing these bull-headed monsters charging like soldiers, fearlessly blocking his path, the Typhon Avatar became utterly enraged.
"Not only do you defile our sacrifices, but you now use the bodies of us victims as your shields?"
If the Bull of Heaven was the result of human experimentation, then these Minotaurs were the embodiments of the victims sacrificed to achieve that result. In the eyes of the Typhon Avatar, every one of these bull-headed monsters was an embodiment of a victim, just like him.
Using the bodies of victims as shields—this vile act made him... he no longer wanted to say anything more.
BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!!!
Without hesitation, without retreat, the Typhon Avatar even increased his power, surging forward with unstoppable force.
Even Divinity-level bodies could not form an obstacle in the face of such a world-burning rage. The Minotaur avatars were all blown away in one go, their dozen or so bodies turning into mist before the final, heavy blow landed on Izayoi.
"Dammit! He's too fast!"
Typhon's burst of power was simply too terrifying, too swift.
So much so that one moment, both Izayoi and Kasukabe Yō believed Asuka's defense would be enough to stop him.
The next, Izayoi was slammed into the earth like a broken ragdoll, blasted through the port, and finally plunged into the seabed, embedding himself deep within the planet's crust.
Seeing Izayoi hit so completely, without any chance to resist, everyone was stunned.
They knew a top-tier Four-Digit would be strong, but they never imagined this strong.
"Dammit! He was holding back before! Little Homura, how's Izayoi doing?"
Without a word, Kasukabe Yō dived into the sea to retrieve Izayoi.
Kudou Asuka and Kudou Ayato stood side-by-side, shielding Percher behind them as they faced the enemy together.
Cold sweat trickled down the Kudou Sisters' backs. They had never expected this enemy to be so ferocious. Being able to easily defeat Izayoi was one thing, but being able to easily defeat Izayoi after obliterating more than a dozen Divinity-level monsters in one go—that was a completely different level of power.
While forcing herself to remain calm during the standoff with the Typhon Avatar, Asuka opened a communication channel to ask about Izayoi's condition.
To measure data, Izayoi, Ayato, and the others were all equipped with medical BDAs that could monitor their physical stats in real-time.
She didn't know if Izayoi would survive, but Saigō Homura should have an update.
"Izayoi's condition is a bit serious, but his life isn't in danger for now. I'm detecting movement, so Kasukabe has probably found him."
Saigō Homura's first words put them at ease.
As long as he's not dead.
Still, to be able to grievously injure Izayoi through a barrier of more than a dozen Divinity-level monsters... that level of power was truly astounding.
Before they could even breathe a sigh of relief, Saigō Homura's next words made them tense up again.
"I'm worried about Brother Izayoi, but right now, you're the ones in the most danger, milady. You're in a standoff with the enemy, right?"
Kudou Asuka glanced at the figure who, after crushing Izayoi, was now just clenching his fists and staring grimly in the direction Izayoi had disappeared, not saying a word or moving a muscle. She nodded and replied in a hushed voice.
"Yes. Though it's less of a standoff and more that he doesn't seem interested in us. He hasn't made a move on us for now."
Even though she was now the strongest member of the Salvation Group, she had no confidence whatsoever in defeating him.
"That's good news, at least. It gives us time to share intel."
Saigō Homura sighed in relief but quickened his pace of speech.
"Intel... Speaking of which, why is this Typhon Avatar so strong? He didn't use any martial arts just now. He completely crushed us with pure physical ability alone."
Kudou Ayato immediately asked.
"This whole fight, he's been overwhelming us with pure taijutsu. His speed isn't that exceptional, but the force of his blows is beyond imagination."
"I don't know the specifics, but according to the monitoring from nearby gravitational research equipment, when he activated his BDA, he not only possessed speed rivaling a Codex Holder but also exhibited a strange gravitational effect."
Saigō Homura stated his observed results.
If little Black Rabbit were here, she would surely be astonished, because this body possessed the same type of power as the former Absolute Demon Lord.
Compressing the mass of an island or even a continental plate into a human body, thereby gaining attack and defense power that surpasses the Four-Digit level.
With this trait alone, he was virtually invincible in close combat.
"You mean... a neutron star?!"
Clearly, the Kudou Sisters also understood how absurd this trait was, and they gasped in shock.
"How are we supposed to fight a monster like that? Even if the Bull of Heaven expands to its absolute limit, it would be hard to deal enough damage, right?"
Kudou Asuka looked up at the sea of clouds and asked, her voice trembling.
Though she appeared to be standing and chatting, she was actually focusing all her power on expanding the Bull of Heaven behind the scenes. By now, she had already expanded its size beyond Tokyo Bay, preparing to use it to take the enemy down with her if it came to that.
But from what Saigō Homura said, the enemy possessed defensive power comparable to a neutron star. Forget a hydrogen-oxygen explosion; even a nuclear blast would likely do no effective damage.
"You're off by more than an order of magnitude."
Saigō Homura shook his head, rejecting Kudou Asuka's plan.
"There's only one plan that could possibly work against a monster like this... But given Brother Izayoi's condition, that plan is now off the table. Even I can't think of anything else... How about you run for it, milady, while I try to come up with another way?"
Unable to devise a winning strategy, Saigō Homura looked at the newly developed device before him, his eyes filled with resolve.
There was no need to let the Kudou Sisters die for nothing. He wanted them to make a strategic retreat.
However—
"Impossible! The enemy hasn't been defeated. How could I flee from battle?"
"Agreed."
The Kudou Sisters were not the type to compromise so easily, nor were they willing to accept the shame of running away.
"But it's suicide—"
Saigō Homura tried to persuade them further.
Just then, Izayoi's voice suddenly came through the channel, interrupting their argument.
"Stop arguing. Homura, you said you had a plan. Is the Prototype BDA ready?"
"Yes, but in your current state, Brother Izayoi, you can't use it! It's too dangerous—"
Saigō Homura nodded and was about to argue, but Izayoi cut him off again.
"As long as it's ready. Kasukabe will help me get it. Leave the rest to me!"
"Brother Izayoi—"
Saigō Homura wanted to say more, but he received no reply from Izayoi. He had already gone offline.
"Dammit!"
He slammed his fist on the lab table, then slumped into his chair, defeated.